State Tournament Preview: Stats and facts about the 2013 Boys State Hockey Tournament

Four seniors will represent the Superior High School boys hockey team this weekend in Madison, captains Dane Sislo and Trent Olson, Aaron Foley and Zach Reiswig.

Sislo, who is on the second line with junior Aaron Wakefield-Zubiate and sophomore Daniel Burger, has three goals and seven assists for 10 points this season.

His biggest assist this season was on Olson’s game-winning goal in the sectional final.

“Dane’s been having a really good year,” Kalin said. “We’ve make some adjustments to our lines to make us a little more balanced, and he’s taken those changes with a grain of salt. He’s worked well with the younger guys on his line and now he has Wakes with him.

“The guys have really put something together. I really like what they’ve been doing for us.”

Reiswig has a 7-3 record with two shutouts in goal for the Spartans. He has allowed 33 goals in 522 minutes.

“Zach’s had a couple of big games for us this season, including the shutouts,” Kalin said. “Goaltender is the toughest position to play because you’re either on the bench or you’re in the game. Paxton Paine’s been getting most of the playing time lately, but Zach’s taking it pretty well and he knows he has to be there and ready to go when he gets his chance.”

Foley is on the fourth line, which hasn’t received a lot of playing time.

“He’s been there every day in practice,” Kalin said. “He’s gotten a lot of time on JV, but the fact is he, along with a couple of other guys, sits a lot on the bench. To have a senior gut it out like he has says a lot about what kind of kid he is.

“He puts in a lot of time and effort. As a coach you want them to get time, but it doesn’t always work out that way. But he’s handled himself very well.”

Olson is considered one of Superior’s assistant coaches.

“We call him ‘Coach Olson,’ he’s our leader, an awesome leader,” Kalin said. “I don’t have to say too much to get these guys fired up. He’s in there getting them ready, either on the bench or on the ice. He always wants to be in there and he didn’t want to come off the ice in that overtime session.”

Against the field

The Spartans are 4-3 against the rest of the field at the state tournament.

Superior defeated Fond du Lac 3-1 and Wausau West 2-1 in the Green Bay Notre Dame Showdown in Titletown.

They also split with Eau Claire Memorial, winning 5-1 and losing 7-2, and lost twice to GBND, 10-3 and 3-0.

Fond du Lac is also coached by former Spartan assistant coach Ryan Sarazin, who played at UW-Superior.

“We look forward to Thursday’s game,” Kalin said. “We were rooting for Sarzy, so, we’re hoping for a good battle. We beat them earlier, but no regular-season game means anything. Just like when we beat Hudson earlier and this time they gave us everything we could handle.

“We have to go down there and prepare for their best. When we played them earlier, they didn’t have their top captains and we didn’t have ours. So that will change things up a lot this time around.”

Fond du Lac was without Ty Rebedew, who missed the game because of a checking-from-behind penalty. Rebedew is the Cardinals’ third leading scorer with 49 points, including a team-high 34 goals.

The Spartans played without Olson, who missed a couple of game with an injury.

Junior Michael Wilson is Fondy’s leading scorer with 31 goals and 40 assists for 71 points. Sophomore jack Nejedio is second with 25 goals and 44 assists and 69 points.

Superior is 3-2 all-time against Fond du Lac, including a 3-1 loss to the Cardinals in the 2007 state championship game.

All-time vs. the field

Verona Area 1-0

Wis. Rapids 7-1

Eau Claire Mem. 29-10

Wausau West 4-3

Fond du Lac 3-2

Green Bay Notre Dame 0-5

NOTE: Superior has never played Whitefish Bay.

Stats and facts

Superior leads in most state championships won with 12. Madison Memorial has won eight, and Madison East has won four titles. ... The Spartans also leads in state tournament appearances with 35. Madison Memorial is next with 29. Northland Pines is third on the list of appearances with 18, and Stevens Point has been to state 17 times. Madison East has made 14 appearances, and Eau Claire Memorial, Fond du Lac and Wausau West have made 13. ... Superior has an all-time record of 56-22 in the state tournament. ... Seventeen different schools have won state championships. Superior is the only program to win three consecutive state titles (1994-96). ... Superior and Madison Memorial are the only programs to win back-to-back titles. Superior has done it twice including its string of three championships (1981-82) and Madison Memorial has accomplished this feat twice (1976-77, 1979-80). ... The WIAA began sponsoring a tournament program in boys hockey in 1971. Superior won the first championship game 7-3 over Madison West. ... Prior to official WIAA involvement in hockey, the Madison schools conducted an invitational from 1964 to 1970 (except for 1966). Eagle River (now Northland Pines) won the first championship, Madison East won the next three, and Superior won the last two.

The rest of the field

Defending champion Notre Dame is making its fourth consecutive, as well as its fourth overall trip to the state tournament. Prior to winning the championship last season, the Tritons advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated from title contention in their first two state experiences. They qualify again this season following an 11-0 rout of the Appleton co-op in the sectional final.

Last year’s runner-up Wausau West will be appearing in the state tournament for the fourth consecutive year as well and for the 13th time overall. The Warriors have played in the title game the past three seasons, winning the championship in 2011. The first of their three runner-up finishes came in 2000. They defeated Stevens Point 5-3 in the sectional final to earn a chance to make another run at the title.

Superior qualifies for state for a membership-leading 35th time, and for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons. The only time the Spartans have failed to qualify during that span was in 2011. They won titles in 1971, 1972, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003 and 2005, and have finished second an additional 11 times.

Eau Claire Memorial will appear in the tournament for the 13th time and for the sixth time in the last seven years, only missing the tournament during that span in 2009. The Old Abes won the state championship in 2008. This season, they defeated the Regis co-op 5-2 in the sectional final to earn a return engagement to the state tournament.

Verona remains in contention for its first state title following a 4-2 win over Edgewood in its sectional final.

It’s the second consecutive appearance for the Wildcats and their fifth overall. Their furthest advance at state was to the semifinals in 2002 and again last season.

Fond du Lac qualifies for the tournament for the 13th time and for the first time since 2009 when the Cardinals finished runner-up. They also finished runner-up on three other occasions–1995, 2001 and 2006. They defeated Homestead 6-4 in the sectional final for their return berth into the tourney field.

Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln is making its eighth appearance in the state tournament and its first since 2010.

The Red Raiders made four straight trips to state from 2003-06, and they have advanced to the semifinals five times before being ousted from title contention. The Red Raiders blanked West Salem/Bangor 3-0 in their sectional final match-up to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood co-op is a first-time qualifier to the state Tournament after defeating the Waukesha North co-op 4-3 in its sectional final.

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